Pipe line clamp



Patented Sept. 1937" UNITED STATES- 4 Claims. (01. 138-99) -'My present invention relates to improvements inpip'e line clamps. I 1 1 Watr and gas systems present typical problems of pipeline maintenance'not only because of thefr'equency of leaks, but also because of the necessity of'effecting all repairs with minimum interference with service; The difliculty of effet'ihg repairs under these conditions are widely recognized and'are always present withth'e'result that several attemptshave been made to provide I a device that could be quickly applied to the pipe to close the leak' 'after lthe leak had been ,made accessible. h r

Iliinit my discussion of previous attempts to provide-an efiective sealto "the types'which, in

general, have been followed One of 'these' utilized sections which were clamped around the pipewhile the; other was essentially a sleeve whichwas slipped over the leak after the pipe had been cut'. In bothofthese types, the dif-f ficulty of providing efiective annular seals was experienced, although in the second mentioned I type,v one piece circular'gaskets were used which,

with clamping means disposed exteriorlyofi the gasketsresulted in a reduction of gasket blowing to which advantage the commercial preference of this type may well be attributed. This type, however, is more expensiveto manufacture and difiicult'to install.

In accordance with my analysis of the various factors, I utilize the first mentioned type, that is, I use sections that may be quickly and easily clamped around the leak without cutting the pipe, or, under normal conditions, shutting off the flow of pipe line contents.

The primary purpose of my invention is to provide an effective seal not only between the sections, but also between the sections and the pipe. I effect this, in accordance with myinvention, by forming the clamp sections and the gasket sections to establish an annular seal which I while retaining the advantages of a divided gasket is more effective than a circular gasket of one v piece.

As both the sections of the device and of the gasket are identical and as the gasket sections may be put in place quickly and prior to the application of the clamp to the pipe, the repair of the pipe line may be promptly and easily effected by clamping the gasketed, sections. around the pipe even if the pipe is under water orthe workman inexperienced or incompetent.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention from which and from the specification, the effectiveness of, my

invention in stopping leaksand as a'service saddle or tapping sleevemay be readily appreciated. In the drawing? v Fig.1 is a view of mydevice installed.

Fig. 2 is an end view of IF'ig. 1' before the sectionsare drawn togethenf Fig. 3 is a plan viewof one Fig.4 is an end view of Fig.3, and (Figs. 5 'and fiare planand end viewsrepresenting oneof'the sections of my'novel gasket.

My clamp consists of two half sections I and 2 which are so shaped that'when secured together theresultant end aperturesapproximate the ex ternal'diame ter'of the pipe i.-Preferably, the sectional and 2 are formedto provide a chambr' ind'icated' at 4 to accommodate couplings.

Either one or'both-ofth'esections l andl may i be provided with a tapped hole indicated in the boss 5' into which is threaded a plug, stop cook,

or a, corporationcock indicated atfi so that my device may be used as a service sleeve when d'esiredij Each of the sections land 2 is provided with flanges land 8, whichflanges are provided with tapped holes 9, to receive the clamping bolts l0.

Thenumber of bolts used will depend, ofcourse, on the size of i the clamp used'. r

With the possible exception of the boss 5, the sections l' and 2 are identical; One flange 1 01- each section is formed with a groove I I while the opposite flange 8 is formed with a tongue l2. A pair of grooves 13 near the ends of each section extend from the groove II to the tongue l2. When assembled, the sections i and 2 are so positioned that the grooves and tongues are in proper relationas shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

My gasket is formed with special attention to the provision of a tight seal. A lead, rubber, or composition gasket (subject, of course, to limitations that may be inherent in particular applications) may beused and may be secured in said grooves as desired.

The gasket sections used are preferably identical and consist .of a side piece 14 to be lodged or the sections.

saddle or tapping ed to be curved as at l6 to correspond to the curvature of the grooves l3 while'the end portion II "is adapted to abut thetongue H. In Fig. 6 it will be noted that the bottom of the portion I'l lies in the same plane as the top of the piece I5 and that while the side piece I and the piece l5 are of the same thickness, the curved portion I6 is substantially thicker while the end portion I1 is even of greater thickness.

, I have formed my novel-gasket in this way so that the portions [4 and I5 will lie within the grooves H and 13 respectively while the portions I6 and I! will protrude from the groove l3 so that the former will contact the pipe 3 while the latter will enter and contact the portion [5 of the other gasket section embedded in the groove l3 of the other section.

In accordance with my invention, it will be appreciated that as the edges of the gasket sections contact within the groove l3 when the bolts are tightened to draw the clamp sections l and 2 together, the resultant annular seal is prevented from blowing with the result that annular seals may be made as effectively from gasket sections as from a one piece circular gasket. While it is not essential that the gaskets or the clamp sections be identical, the savings in manufacture and the increased simplicity make such construction preferably so that the full advantages of my in-v vention are made available in the effective solution of the problems.

1 What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

1. A device for stopping pipe leaks comprising a pair of sleeve sections each having an elongated recess of substantially semi-circular shape in cross section, means for clamping said sections together in embracing relationship to a pipe; sealing means between said sections at the sides of the recessestherein, said sections having related pairs of spaced apart transverse grooves,. said grooves extending beyond the sides of said recesses, and gaskets insaid grooves having medial portions for direct sealing engagement with the pipe and terminal portions for sealing contact with eachother beyond the sides of the recesses.

in said sections, the relative depths of said grooves and the terminal portions of said gaskets,

beyond the sides of said recesses, being such.

that each related pair of said terminal portions contact with each other within the groove of one of thesections.

2. A leak stopping device as set forth in claim 1 in which the tenninalportions of each of the gaskets are of lesser and greater depths, respectively, than the portions of the groove in which they are accommodated whereby, when the sections are clamped together, the contactingfaces of the gasket terminal portions at one side of the device are disposed within the groove of one of the sections and the contacting faces of the gasket terminal portions at the other side of the device are disposed within the groove of the other of the sections.

3. A device for stopping pipe leaks comprising a pair of sleeve sections each having an elongated recess of substantially, semi-circular shape in ,cross section, means for clamping said sections together in embracing relationship to a pipe, each section having a longitudinally extending groove beyond one side of its. recess and a longitudinally extending tongue beyond the other side of its recess, each section additionally having, adjacent to each end thereof, a transverse groove extending from the longitudinal groove to the tongue, said sections being substantially duplicates of each other for disposal relative to each other with their transverse grooves alined and the tongue of each section alined with the longitudinally extending groove of the other section, and a gasket for each section, each gasket comprising a single longitudinal portion to lie within the longitudinally extending groove of the related section and a pair of transverse portions extending laterally from said longitudinal portion to be ,within the transverse grooves, respectively, of the related section, each transverse gasket portion including a medial portion of substantially semi-circular shape and of greater depth than the portion of the transverse groove in which it is accommodatedto contact directly with the pipe, each transverse gasket portion further including a pair of terminal portions to extend beyond the sides of the recess in the related section, the relative depths of said transverse gasket terminal portions and the transverse grooves beyond the sides of the recesses in the sections being such that each related pair of said transverse gasket terminal portions contact with each other within the related portion of the related transverse groove of one of the sleeve sections. a

4. A leak stopping device as set forth in claim 3 in which the terminal portions of each transverse gasket ,portion are of lesser and greater depths, respectively, than the portions of the transverse groove in which they are accommodated.

NEWTON B. THOMPSON. 

